Tonight at 5pm, the Chester County Art Association kicked off the start of their “Art as Change: 1960s Revolutionary Images” exhibit at 5pm with a preview and at 7pm with a reception. The attendees enjoyed a wide array of cocktails and hor d’oeurves, as well as live music. I talked with Richard Chalfant, a local painter and contributor to this 1960s exhibit on why he is excited to portray this historical, musical, and political imagery to tonight’s attendees.
“This form of art was and still is accessible to the public,” he said. “It’s very grassroots journalism,and for the people. And the San Francisco area — where some of these posters and paintings are from — was the hotbed of psychedelic art and the anti-war movement.”
But the most important aspect to Richard is how the protest posters currently reflect the social issues in modern American history.
“We are so close to repeating ourselves,” he said. “The social issues from the 60s are still very relevant today.”
Richard has collected many posters and paintings over the years, yet he still cannot decide on a favorite piece of art.
“It’s so hard to choose a favorite because there are so many stories in each of them,” Richard described. “You have protest posters and concert advertisements with intricate typography that almost had hidden fonts — only certain people could read them.”
And it’s especially important to tell these stories in these pieces of art — why else would the exhibit be entitled, “Art as Change”?
“‘Art as Change’ is important because it lets us talk about change and how art has had an effect on a culture,” he said.
Wendy Kershner, executive director, informed me about why the Chester County Art Association wanted to host this kind of exhibit.
“We’ve been working hard to plan this since January because we like to use educate and give back to the community,” she said, “as well as give our members new experiences with us.”
The Chester County Art Association will host five additional lectures until the exhibit closes on October 29th. Visit them online for more information.